Aftermarket charger

This is my firs post here. I have been following this forum for quite sometime. Got my IPAQ210 a couple of months ago. Does everything I wanted it ot do. I appreciate all the opinions and information I got from Brighthand.

I am planning to travel to Scotland this summer, from Canada. I am looking into chargers that will power my device overseas. I was looking at a screen protector from Boxwave, since they finally seem to have come up with the right product for 210. Versa Charger Pro caught my attention.
I wander if any of you have any thoughts on this matter. Not that I trust HP. They do have a charger listed in accesories. However, Boxwave seems to be offering a better deal, and be more versatile. They claim to be able to charge the device from wall power outlets, planes and automobiles. Automatic 110-220 Volt conversion! Now, I dont want to sound like Uncle Buck, but that seems like an awesome good deal! On the other hand, I dont want to fry my device if it does not perform as specified.

I would appreciate an input on this. Any advise on aftermarket chargers?
Much thanks

Welcome to Brighthand, AndyW114. The important thing about charging from overseas current is to make sure that your power supply is capable of using either the 110 volt power here in NorthAm, versus the 220v used in Europe. Generally, power adapters that support this will be listed as "switching" or 100-240 volt capable.

You don't need a special charger, the one that came with the 210 will do just fine. It's a switching supply and is rated for 100-240v. All you need is a plug adapter to fit into the UK sockets. Anything that looks like this will do.

I have a few 5vdc chargers with the round barrel plug that I have acquired over years with the purchases of several pda's. Does anyone know of a source to purchase additional converters (round barrel plug to 24 pin dock plug) to charge the unit. That way I could leave a charger and home, one at the office and one in my laptop backpack and pretty much have a charger where ever I would need one.

Thanks

edit: I'd prefer not to purchase directly from HP as usually after-market source for these types of things work as well and are much cheaper. I just don't know of anyone that is carrying many 210 accessories yet.

I have a few 5vdc chargers with the round barrel plug that I have acquired over years with the purchases of several pda's. Does anyone know of a source to purchase additional converters (round barrel plug to 24 pin dock plug) to charge the unit. That way I could leave a charger and home, one at the office and one in my laptop backpack and pretty much have a charger where ever I would need one.

Thanks

edit: I'd prefer not to purchase directly from HP as usually after-market source for these types of things work as well and are much cheaper. I just don't know of anyone that is carrying many 210 accessories yet.

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I, too, would like several more of those adapters. I've been looking, but nobody I have found has them out yet.

I would appreciate an input on this. Any advise on aftermarket chargers?

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I use Boxwave's VersaCharger Pro for my iPAQ 111 both at home and in the car and it works great. I haven't tried it overseas (I live in the USA), but it is rated for the higher voltage. All you should need is a prong adapter.

I use Boxwave's VersaCharger Pro for my iPAQ 111 both at home and in the car and it works great. I haven't tried it overseas (I live in the USA), but it is rated for the higher voltage. All you should need is a prong adapter.

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It does work well, I used it in Europe and Africa last month (with the appropriate 2 or 3 prong adapter plug needed for these areas). My only comment is that it is a 500 mha charger. This means it takes a long time to charge up the 2200 mha battery (or 4400 mha that I had) for the 210.

The HP charger that comes with the 210 also has a 500 mha output. I end up using the charger that came with my dell X51V most of the time because it has a 1000 mha output. Works with 220 and 110 volts (as does the HP power adapter) and charged the battery much faster!

To prevent panic from setting in on your trip abroad, be aware that when plugging in different chargers your IPAQ may not want to recognize a charger at times. I have a couple of chargers at home a HP USP wall charger by my chair for surfing the Internet, while watching the TV and a HP 24 pin wall charger by the bed for playing BubbleBreaker to put myself to sleep. Many times after using these chargers at home (usually the 24 pin is the culprit) the IPAQ 210 will not recognize the USB charge from the computer as a charger, the charging light will not come on and the screen plug-in icon does not show up however, ActiveSync still works. A soft reset will not change this, but if the battery is taken out and put it back in, either while still plugged into the USB cord or not plugged into the cord, then the IPAQ recognizes that the charger from the USB cord is active. Removing and replacing the battery has always fixed the problem.

It does work well, I used it in Europe and Africa last month (with the appropriate 2 or 3 prong adapter plug needed for these areas). My only comment is that it is a 500 mha charger. This means it takes a long time to charge up the 2200 mha battery (or 4400 mha that I had) for the 210.

The HP charger that comes with the 210 also has a 500 mha output. I end up using the charger that came with my dell X51V most of the time because it has a 1000 mha output. Works with 220 and 110 volts (as does the HP power adapter) and charged the battery much faster!

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Actually, both the Dell and HP power adapters are rated at 2A (2000mA) output. The print on the "wall wart" is really small, but it clearly says "5v, 2A" on the ouput.

When I travel I use a USB power adapter rated at least 1A. This seems to recharge without problem. I also use a 1A car charger to USB in the car to power my Ipaq while running GPS. The battery seems to stay at 99 to 100% when plugged in.

Are there any portable chargers available yet? Either the type that plugs into a 9 volt battery, or the box type that holds 4 AA batteries?...

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I use a battery pack that I picked up at Maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=222614&doy=23m4. It's available in Maplin stores too.
It's capacity is 2000mAh (twice that of a standard FreeLoader) and it had adapters for many phones. I use it for charging my iPAQ and phone through its USB port.
It's tiny (much smaller than 4xAA boxes and very thin - the bag of connectors is bigger than the battery pack) and I take it everywhere. It won't fully charge my 214 but at £9.99 it's a great backup supply.

Are there any portable chargers available yet? Either the type that plugs into a 9 volt battery, or the box type that holds 4 AA batteries?

Never mind, I just found one on Boxwave. Has anyone tried it?

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I tried out this unit for my iPAQ 111, but couldn't get it to work. Boxwave had me try several different cables, and then gave up and refunded my money. They have since removed it from their iPAQ 111 accessories webpage.

It is a very nice unit, and with Boxwave it would be risk-free if you wanted to try it out.

I had one of the original Boxwave 4-AA battery chargers (the long thin one) for my Palm TX. It worked well with the TX, but didn't work at all with my 210. I don't know how well the new one with the LED flashlight in it works.

Gomadic.com offers a four-AA battery pack that works well with the 210. You have to choose the adapter you want with it and additional adapters cost $4.95, but at least it works! I have successfully used the mini-USB adapter to charge both the 210 and my very hard to charge Motorola W315 phone.

Gomadic.com offers a four-AA battery pack that works well with the 210. You have to choose the adapter you want with it and additional adapters cost $4.95, but at least it works! I have successfully used the mini-USB adapter to charge both the 210 and my very hard to charge Motorola W315 phone.

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Thanks. I'd forgotten about Gomadic, but it looks like they have just about every type of charger I could ever need.

I can confirm that my Boxwave Versacharger Pro was able to charge my HP 210 while powered on in Dublin, Ireland. Again, all you need is a US to UK plug converter (available in just about every airport or travel section of your local Wal-Mart). Note: the current model Versacharger Pro outputs at 2A when plugged into the wall. This is plenty of power for simultaneous charge and use.

I've used this for a month now and it has been excellent. I use it more like an extended battery than a charger.
I've found that it powers my 214 for some 3 hours of intensive use. It also manages to charge the iPAQ's main battery a little while the 214 is in use.
Three hours is longer than my DIY AA battery charger which uses 4 AA 2500mAh batteries.
The AA battery charger is still great for where I can't use a mains charger; AA batteries are available everywhere. I have made mine pen-shaped for portability. The box-like packs take up to much pocket space.
Incidentally, my limited knowledge of electronics suggests that more energy than I would expect is lost when charging like this. Where does it go?

I can confirm that my Boxwave Versacharger Pro was able to charge my HP 210 while powered on in Dublin, Ireland. Again, all you need is a US to UK plug converter (available in just about every airport or travel section of your local Wal-Mart). Note: the current model Versacharger Pro outputs at 2A when plugged into the wall. This is plenty of power for simultaneous charge and use.

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On every two hundred series I've tried if one enables both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi the two hundred series when powered by the miniUSB port will turn off the external power LED. Are you stating that with the Versacharger Pro you can have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the backlight set to more than say 70% and it will still charge your device? That has not been my experience.